CoSNCoSN CEO Keith Krueger today issued the following statement on the Every Student Succeeds Act: "On behalf of its members, CoSN urges the House and Senate to approve the Every Student Succeeds Act — legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act — for the president's signature without delay." "This legislation represents a renewed, long-awaited commitment to digital equity. It will strengthen the technology competencies of educators, including their data privacy know-how, and give more students the tools needed for success in college and career preparation."READ MORE

CoSNRegistration is now open for our 2016 Annual Conference, which will be held in Washington, D.C., from April 4-7! Accelerating Success: Powered by an eLearning Culture will bring together ed tech leaders from around the country and the world to discuss the most pressing issues facing you today. Join us for a keynote address from best-selling author Daniel Pink on How Smart School Systems are Rethinking Innovation. Visit http://cosnconference.org for full information.READ MORE

CoSNJoin CoSN for our next webinar tomorrow, Dec. 8, from 1-2 p.m. ET! In Learning Beyond the Classroom — Digital Equity and Access, CoSN CEO Keith Krueger will lead a discussion on how some education leaders are encouraging community conversations to address the challenge of digital equity. This thought-provoking webinar will cover the "homework gap" and strategies for getting started. Click here for more information and to register.READ MORE

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Securing The Digital Classroom RapidIdentity, from Identity Automation, secures millions of students worldwide, providing schools and school districts with automated provisioning to today's top learning applications, single sign-on (SSO) to hundreds of web applications, self-service accounts, password resets, and more. Learn more about RapidIdentity for K-12 and request a free product tour today.

EdTech MagazinePeople know a good deal when they see one. That was the case for Volusia County, Fla., Schools when it entered into a campuswide agreement with Microsoft several years ago. Alex Kennedy, assistant director of infrastructure and technical services, says that upon signing the enterprise agreement for Microsoft Office 365, the software maker packaged System Center Configuration Manager at no additional cost. That offer was too attractive to refuse.READ MORE

K-12 TechDecisionsTechnology has significantly changed how we present, discuss, share and interact with information. With what used to involve numerous wires, cords and hardware, teachers can now present media from their laptops to a large presentation screen through the wireless pairing of devices. Wireless presentation solutions have made a significant impact on the way teachers and students share information, and the latest wireless presentation systems not only help to enhance the way students and teachers present information, but also share and interact with content and media. READ MORE

The Hechinger ReportThe billionaire chief executive of Facebook said he will invest $20 million in a small nonprofit organization that works to improve Internet access in schools. The California-based EducationSuperHighway provides schools with information to help school leaders make smarter choices about increasing high-speed Internet access. The donation from Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, will allow the organization to hire more staff and expand outreach to more schools. "Twenty million dollars is an incredible gift for an organization like ours," said Evan Marwell, CEO of the EducationSuperHighway, the nonprofit he founded in 2012.READ MORE

BrookingsIn the wake of the recession, states and districts were dealing with an unprecedented budget crunch. Race to the Top was included in the stimulus package in part to provide temporary relief to education agencies throughout the country. In return for the grants the federal government required states and districts to reform their own policies. Reforms to data systems were among those the federal government pursued. Though the extra funds were welcomed, education leaders were initially wary of their capacity to implement the agreed upon changes. Recent evidence indicates that states and districts have made progress with regard to data capacity issues.READ MORE

Tech&LearningWith the government's recent push for more Open Educational Resources and the already massively available "flexbooks" through sites like CK12.org, we no longer have to purchase an expensive, unreliable online textbook from a major company. Instead of spending millions upon millions of dollars on textbooks, districts can instead dedicate that money towards staffing, technology and paid online resources that will actually help kids with learning. In Texas, we have our Instructional Materials Allotment which allows for "local control" of funds so districts can choose what they want to purchase when it comes to instructional materials. READ MORE

eSchool NewsTechnology use is increasing, with 4 out of 5 teachers saying they will use classroom technology more frequently during the 2015-2016 school year, according to a survey from Front Row Education, a company that provides adaptive, gamified and data driven education programs. The largest driver of this increase appears to be access to devices, with more than three-fourths of 1,000 surveyed teachers noting that the availability of classroom technology resources at their school is either good (40 percent) or great (37 percent).READ MORE

Education WeekThe transition from print to digital resources has been playing out unevenly across districts, with some school systems pressing ahead full-bore and others staying more entrenched in the paper-bound world, either by choice or necessity. So what are some of the factors that are impeding schools' movement into the digital space? MDR, a market-research company, attempts to bring clarity to that question in a new report: "The Shift Toward Digital: Forcing Factors, Benefits, and Barriers." It was written by Geoffrey Fletcher, a private consultant who's a former deputy executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association. The report is available at a cost, but MDR is allowing Education Week to draw some of the highlights.READ MORE

District Administration MagazineAnalysts expect 3-D printer shipments to double worldwide to nearly 496,500 units in 2016 — in large part due to demand from K-12 schools and universities, according to a new report. 3-D printers — devices that create physical objects from digital plans — are more common in STEM classes than in people's homes, despite manufacturers' initial expectations for the machines. Schools and universities are the primary market drivers for consumer 3-D printers costing under $2,500, according to a September report from Gartner Inc., an independent technology research company.READ MORE

EdTech MagazineBefore launching a network upgrade across a school district, IT leaders should consider all aspects of how the new hardware will impact the schools, and how well the pieces work with legacy hardware components. During EdTech's latest K-12 webinar, "Time for a Network Upgrade?" three experts offered advice on how to plan a network overhaul, from the overall strategies involved in choosing the right hardware components, to the tactics of implementing them in each school and tips on getting the best use of funds through the federal E-Rate program.READ MORE